Land of the King
Chapter 47: Jaenara of the Belaerii
4278 E.L
Some days, Jaenara Belaerys wondered why exactly she had chosen to adventure into Sothoryos. It was hot, humid, and disgusting and all she had ever found was jungle, mountains, and desert. Rinse and repeat.
Of course she had had an ulterior motive for choosing to leave Valyria but when that was excluded, she found it hard to understand why she'd chosen, willingly to undergo the past year of grueling exploration. Perhaps she was simply unwilling to admit that she had left Valyria for her own selfish reasons.
Arnorian explorers had long ago charted the southern coasts and extremities of the continent, confirming Jaenara's belief that the continent was as vast as Essos. Yet to all in the civilised world, the interior of the continent remained a mystery and honestly even after twelve months in that hellhole, it was still very much a mystery to her.
Exploration from dragonback had its perks but what Jaenara really needed to make any progress was a ship and a crew to sail up the rivers, giving her eyes on the ground and a safe place to sleep.
Jaenara also really needed a break and rest in a proper bed and so she was currently flying back to Gogossos on her beloved mount Terrax.
It was midday when Gogossos came into view. The city had once been a penal colony of the Ghiscari, named Gorgai, and had been conquered by Valyria millennia ago during the Wars at which point it became known as Gogossos and the centre of the very worst of Valyria's blood magic and sorcery, with the blood mages and fleshsmiths free to experiment on the prisoners as they wished.
Wishing to keep her lunch in her belly, Jaenara stopped dwelling on the horrors the city's mages did. Even to the dragonlords what they did was nothing less than inhuman, hence their unofficial exile from the Valyrian Peninsula.
As distasteful as it was to use Gogossos as a base, she had no choice. The city was the closest Valyrian outpost by far to her exploration efforts and she needed it for supplies.
As she flew into the city however, Jaenara was surprised to see an Arnorian ship in harbour. Rarely did the ships of Westernesse moor in the city, for whilst Jaenara and her fellow dragonlords thought the actions of the blood mages distasteful, the Arnorians absolutely despised it. She couldn't really blame them though, especially since many Arnorians had been brought to Gogossos and experimented upon centuries ago from Lys and the Stepstones.
Shaking her thoughts away, Jaenara continued on toward her destination, the Archon's Palace. The word Archon in Valyria meant 'supreme leader' or 'dictator'. Traditionally, Archons were only selected in times of crisis and always from one of the three ruling Triarchs of Valyria. The last time Valyria had appointed an Archon was in the last Ghiscari War. However, in the years since, Valyria's expansions had led to the title being used for the viceroyc chosen by the Valyrian Senate to rule over certain colonies.
Tyrosh, a military outpost near the Arnorian border, was governed by an Archon as was Gogossos. Unlike Volantis and a few others, Gogossos and its denizens were not trusted with self-rule and so was ruled by an Archon dispatched from Valyria whose duty was to keep control of the city's less savoury individuals.
As she landed in the courtyard of the Archon's Palace, Jaenara was greeted by the Archon of Gogossos, Gerys Gryvetheon. Though not a dragonlord, Gerys was a distant cousin of the current Lord Freeholder of House Gryvetheon, one of the Forty Families.
Jaenara had been hosted by him the last time she had been in Gogossos and now she would take him up on his offer of hospitality once more.
"Lady Jaenara! I see you have decided to grace me with your presence once more!" Gryvetheon beamed.
"Your Excellency, I am pleased to accept your hospitality once more!" Jaenara replied, though her smile did not reach her eyes.
Gerys subtly eyed her before continuing, "Come, I have already ordered the servants to prepare a feast in your honour."
Jaenara had to hold in a sigh. Gerys was subtle, she would give him that. Most men were hardly subtle when they ogled her and many had an interest in her not only because she was a dragonlord but also because she was the daughter of one of the Triarchs.
That night at dinner, Jaenara had to answer the eager questions of the Archon as he inquired after her adventures in the south and also subtly hinted at both their unmarried statuses.
Jaenara had gently let him down with a reminder that she was not free to arrange her own match, which the Archon had taken in stride. To be honest, Jaenara would not mind that much if she was matched with Gerys. He was far more agreeable than her other options and of course as a pureblooded Valyrian, his looks were more than satisfactory. Yet there was a huge disparity in their social class. Though from the Forty as well, Gerys was not from the main line of his house whilst Jaenara's father was Lord Freeholder of House Belaerys and Triarch. Perhaps most importantly of all, Jaenara rode a dragon, and Gerys did not.
"I am curious though, my lady, why have you returned to Gogossos so soon? When last we met, you said you did not expect to return for three years and it has barely been a year since." Gerys asked.
Jaenara sighed, "Exploration on dragoback is not feasible without an expedition on the ground as well. I have realised that now. I have returned to Gogossos in search of a brave crew that would be willing to sail up the Zamayos River with me."
"Would they not slow you down?" the Archon asked.
"They would, but I believe their aid would be worth it. It is little help to the Freehold if I can only give a dragon's eye view of the continent without eyes on the ground to back it up. Furthermore, my exploration on dragonback gives little more than cursory glances of the continent, most of which is covered in a thick canopy of jungle," Jaenara explained.
"Ah yes, the infamous Green Hell. You would be hard pressed to find a crew willing to sail into it, no matter how much you pay them."
"Yes I know, I may have to resort to more extreme means," Jaenara replied sheepishly. By extreme she meant threatening a crew with dragonfire to accept her commision.
Archon Gerys gave her an unimpressed look, "Thankfully, I do believe that there is one such crew that would be perfect for your plans."
Jaenara was a bit surprised to hear that, "Really? Well why didn't you say so earlier?"
"The ship and its crew are Arnorian," the Archon replied calmly.
Jaenara froze before she turned to the Archon, her voice trembling as she tried to hide the myriad of emotions warring in her mind and heart, "The large ship in the harbour."
"Indeed. You know Arnorians. They do love their big ships."
"It's too big. They'll never make it up the river in that. What are they even doing here?"
"They brought along a smaller ship, capable of sailing up the Zamayos. In their report to the harbour officials, they claimed to be planning an expedition deep into Sothoryos."
"Claimed?"
"Do you honestly think the Arnorians have no ulterior motive for exploring deep into the continent?" Gerys asked.
"I… I don't know. The Arnorians are thrill-seekers, it could be a crew of young hotheads searching for adventure."
"Perhaps, but they could just as easily be here for another purpose. Arnorians do not come to Gogossos for reasons as petty as thrill-seeking. What would they even find in the Green Hell? If they had any aspirations for the continent, they would sail for the temperate far south, not the jungle. No I believe that they are searching for something and using exploration as the cover."
"So you think that I should recruit them for my expedition?" Jaenara asked.
"Yes! Exactly. This crew will do for free what you would have had to threaten and pay others to do. And they're Arnorian, like them or hate them, no one will deny that they are the best sailors and explorers in the world,"
"And you also want me to investigate them because they are Arnorian?"
"Yes. As members of the Forty, it is our duty to defend Mother Valyria. No need to make yourself suspicious, just keep an eye on them and make sure they aren't getting up to no good down there."
Jaenara couldn't deny Gerys's reasoning but it had one major flaw.
"The Arnorians are under no obligation to partner with me for this expedition. They're well within their rights to refuse."
"Yes yet if they refuse a freely offered partnership it will be clear to us that they're up to no good in which case I will report to the Senate. They may ask us to apprehend and interrogate them."
"I do think that would be extreme. It would be a diplomatic incident and could spark a war with Arnor."
"A crew disappearing in the Green Hell is hardly surprising." Gerys's gaze softened, "Do not give them any reason to doubt your loyalty Jaenara, not even your father's influence can protect you if that happens. You know that is what the Senate will demand."
She did know and she damn well hated it. For all they knew that crew actually was exploring without any ulterior motive and now they had a choice between partnering with a dragonlord or being abducted and interrogated brutally and they didn't even know it.
The next morning, Jaenara Belaerys walked down to the docks to speak with the Arnorian crew.
She would be a lying liar who lies if she said she wasn't impressed with the ship. It had four masts, all rigged with a complex sail plan which allowed the ship to tack. The ship had three decks and though it didn't have any major weapons she could see, Jaenara knew it could easily be armed and turned into a warship.
Arnor's ships were far more advanced than Valyria's and she doubted a ship like this was cheap either. This crew definitely had a sponsor backing their expedition. Perhaps Gerys wasn't that off the mark.
The sailors it seemed had finally noticed her, and two walked down the gangplank onto the pier.
"Why hello there beauty, what brings you here?" One said, smiling at her. His colleague was not nearly as friendly and was glaring at her fiercely.
"I need to speak to your captain," Jaenara said, uncomfortable that she had to look up at him. For a woman, Jaenara was unusually tall at 6 feet and 4 inches. Most of the men she ever met were at the very most her equal in height and often times much shorter. It made her feel powerful.
Yet these Arnorians, they towered over her. Most were at least six and a half feet and some had to be over seven feet as well, including the two in front of her. It was not unexpected, in all the world, only the Sarnori and Lengii could rival the Arnorians in height. It didn't mean she had to like it though.
"You're looking at him," the smiling man replied.
"Well then, captain, I have a proposal for you. Do you see that thing flying in the air?" Jaenara said, pointing out her dragon Terrax flying in the skies above the city.
If it was possible, the glare of the second man intensified but the first remained smiling, "Yes what about it?"
"I am its rider," Jaenara announced.
At that moment all the sailors on the ship turned their gazes toward her making her wonder how on earth they heard her before she remembered that the Arnorians had superhuman senses.
The captain's smile remained in place, almost as if it was cemented there, but his eyes became guarded.
"I see," he said. "What does one of the Forty want from us then?"
"Nothing. I'm only here to give you an offer. My acquaintance is the Archon of the city and he informed me of you and your crew's intention to sail up the Zamayos River into the interior of the continent. It so happens that I have just returned from a year of exploration and am in search of a crew who could support me on the ground when I resume my efforts."
"You're proposing a partnership then."
"Yes exactly. Think about it, with your sailing expertise and my eyes in the sky, we would have little to fear from the Brindled Men and make much progress."
"Why would we want to partner with dragonspawn?" the second man muttered under his breath in Sindarin, unaware that Jaenara understood him perfectly and froze when she heard the insult.
Dragonspawn was a common insult to the Valyrian dragonlords and one they had long learned to embrace and wear proudly, but to Jaenara the word was only a reminder of a painful memory and she forced herself not to flinch at the memory of a woman venomously calling her that before jumping off a balcony.
"Dragonspawn is hardly a creative insult. You will have to do better than that Arnorian," Jaenara spat back in perfect and crisp Sindarin.
That took all the Arnorians back and the captain asked her, "You speak Sindarin?"
"I get by," Jaenara replied, switching back to the trade language they had previously been conversing in. "I'm not the most fluent in it however," she answered, lying as easily as she breathed. She realised now that she had made a mistake in letting the Arnorians know she understood them, it would make gathering information from them harder.
"Please, allow us to discuss this amongst ourselves first," the captain asked.
"Sure, take all the time you need," Jaenara replied.
The captain and the second man returned to their ship though not before the second gave her another glare. The almost permanent smile had finally come off the captain's face.
The suspicious and wary actions of the crew supported Gerys's theory yet Jaenara knew all too well that the Arnorians had every right to be wary of dragonlords.
The sailors on the ship however were not the only ones with good hearing and Jaenara tried to listen in as much as she could but she could hear only nonsensical snippets. It seems they were being cautious.
Finally, after an agonising wait, the captain returned.
"We accept your offer."
Jaenara had to hold in a sigh of relief. "Excellent," she said, smiling, "If we are to be partners captain, I would know your name."
The smile was back now, "Its Túrin. And this one over here," he said, pointing to the man from earlier who had been glaring at her, "is my second in command, Allard."
Joy. The man who seemed most hostile to her was the lieutenant of the ship. Well she took some small comfort that Captain Túrin was friendly if wary.
After she had finished discussing their plans with the Arnorians, Jaenara returned to her room in the palace and let out the sigh she had been holding in.
She had been lying when she had told the Arnorians she was not fluent in Sindarin. In many ways, it was more her mother tongue than even High Valyrian was.
Words could not describe the relief that Jaenara had felt when the Arnorians had accepted her offer. If they hadn't, she might very well have been forced to hurt them and that would have been painful. They were after all her kinsmen from afar, for the Blood of Númenor ran through the veins of Jaenara Belaerys as surely as it did through the veins of Captain Túrin and his crew.
Author's Note: Credit given to the fanon and roleplay wikis of ASOIAF for coming up with the name of the Zamayos River. Also House Gryvetheon is one of the Valyrian house names from the CKII AGOT mod.